21 Oct 2004(Thu)

There's no doubt where the "Match of the Day" will be in Japan on Saturday.

It has to be at Kashiwa in Chiba Prefecture, where Reysol take on Cerezo Osaka in a match which is crucial for the J1 survival of both teams.

Cerezo are at the bottom of the second-stage standings with only seven points, the same meagre tally as Oita and Jubilo, and Reysol are in 13th position with just eight points.

But the second-stage table alone does not tell the whole story, of course, because you need to look at the points combined from both stages to see who is in big trouble.

Overall, Cerezo are still 16th and last with 17 points, and Reysol are 15th with 20 points, four behind the team in 14th position, Oita.

So it looks like a two-horse race to avoid the bottom place, which would mean a playoff with J2's third-placed team for a spot in the expanded 18-team top flight next season.

The match kicks off at 3pm, and I'm sure there will be a big and noisy crowd at Kashiwa for this vital game.

If Reysol win they will open up a six-point lead over Cerezo, and surely that gap will be too big for Cerezo to close with only five matches remaining.

If Cerezo win they will pull level with Reysol on 20 points and give themselves hope of avoiding the playoff. It's not Cerezo's last chance, but it's pretty close to that.

With the stakes so high, both teams will be going for the win.

A draw would not be satisfactory for either side, especially the away team, so the fans can look forward to some attacking, maybe even desperate, football at the compact Hitachi Stadium.

Cerezo had a terrible result on Sunday, losing 2-1 at home to Vissel Kobe in the Kansai derby. Ryuji Bando opened the scoring for Vissel, pushing his claims for a national team call-up after an impressive display for the Japan Selection against Hungary Selection at National Stadium recently.

But Reysol, at home to Grampus, could not fully capitalise on Cerezo's home defeat.

Despite fighting back from 1-0 down at half-time with two quick goals in the second half from Myojin and Otani, Reysol then allowed a sloppy equaliser late on and Grampus stole a point. That was two big points lost for Reysol.

There are some attractive games this weekend, for example Antlers at home to Reds and Marinos at home to FC Tokyo, but the Reysol-Cerezo clash will be the most crucial for the immediate future of both teams.

Go and enjoy a true relegation dogfight!

ends